Royal Gardens 5 Horti Regis

Royal Gardens Horti Regis
5
1. Rex, King of Carnival,
Monarch of Merriment
Rex’s float carries the King of Carnival and his pages through
the streets of New Orleans each Mardi Gras. In the early years
of the New Orleans Carnival Rex’s float was redesigned each
year. The current King’s float, one of Carnival’s most iconic
images, has been in use for over fifty years.
2. His Majesty’s Bandwagon - From this traditional
permanent float one of the Royal Bands provides lively music for Rex
and for those who greet him on the parade route. One of those songs
will surely be the Rex anthem: “If Ever I Cease to Love,” which has
been played in every Rex parade since 1872.
3. The King’s Jesters - Even the Monarch of Merriment needs jesters in
his court. Rex’s jesters dress in the traditional colors of Mardi Gras – purple, green
and gold. The papier mache’ figures on the Jester float are some of the oldest in the
Rex parade, and were sculpted by artists in Viareggio, Italy, a city with its own rich
Carnival tradition.
4. The Boeuf Gras - The Boeuf Gras (“the fat ox”) represents one of the
oldest traditions and images of Mardi Gras, symbolizing the great feast on the day
before Lent begins. In the early years of the New Orleans Carnival a live Boeuf Gras,
decorated with garlands, had an honored place near the front of the Rex Parade.
5. The Butterfly King - Since the earliest days of Carnival, butterflies
have been popular symbolic design elements, their brief and colorful life a metaphor
for the ephemeral magic of Mardi Gras itself. The invitation to the 1882 Rex ball
combined the butterfly image with that of the King of Carnival, creating the
enduring image of “The Butterfly King.” The Butterfly King float, introduced in
2012, is the first new permanent float to join the Rex Procession in many decades.
6. Title Float: “Royal Gardens∙Horti Regis” - The desire to be
surrounded by beauty is as old as mankind itself. In every time and culture artists have
arranged natural elements into gardens to please all of the senses. Emperors and Kings
assured that their gardens were planned with as much care as their castles, and some of
these gardens were counted among the wonders of the world. The 2016 Rex Procession
takes us to splendid gardens known only from ancient illustrations and descriptions, and
to others still providing beautiful sights to those who visit them.
7. Garden of the Majestic Clear Lake - The Tang dynasty (618
AD-907 AD) was considered the First Golden Age of Chinese gardens. The Emperor
Xuanzong’s Imperial Garden, the Garden of the Majestic Clear Lake, included pools,
pavilions, and even replicas of mountains.
8. Versailles - Begun by Louis XIII in 1632, the elaborate formal gardens of
Versailles occupy more than 1600 acres near Paris. Louis IX felt the gardens were as
important as Versailles’ elaborate chateaux, or castle. Filled with sculptures, follies
and fountains, Versailles remains a popular tourist destination today.
9. Gardens of the Mughal Empire - From the 16th through the 19th
Centuries, Mughal rulers controlled a vast empire including parts of what we now
know as India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. With a strong Persian influence, Mughal
gardens were geometrically composed, with terraces, reflecting pools and pavilions.
10. A Streetcar Named Desire - Streetcars are an important symbol of
New Orleans, and this permanent float honors the best known of all of New Orleans’
streetcar lines. This iconic float depicts “The Streetcar Named Desire,” made famous
by the playwright Tennessee Williams. It is the only Rex float not pulled by a tractor.
11. Boboli Gardens - One of the most popular attractions in Florence,
the Boboli Gardens grace the Pitti Palace, the ancestral home of the great Medici
families. Begun in the 16th Century, the Gardens are filled with extraordinary
statues and fountains, a grand tribute to Florence’s artistic legacy.
12. Elysian Fields - In Greek mythology Elysium is the final destination of
the gods and of those who are allowed to join them because they lived good lives.
Virgil describes Elysium as a place of perpetual Spring, shady groves, crystal springs
and shining fields.
13. Perdita’s Garden - Gardens played an important role in many of the
works of William Shakespeare, whose 400th Anniversary the School of Design
celebrates with this float. In “The Winter’s Tale,” a shepherd raises Perdita, even
though she is the daughter of a King. Her rustic cottage garden is a symbol of her
simple life, which by the end of the play is no longer so.
14. Vatican Gardens - In 1279 Pope Nicholas III planted an orchard
(pomerium), a lawn (pratellum), and a garden (viridarium) on Vatican Hill. Through
almost a millennium, and through many revisions and re-plantings, the Vatican
Gardens have been maintained as a place of beauty and contemplation.
15. The Royal Barge - Reminiscent of a grand Viking ship, and complete
with Royal Gryphon, the Royal Barge is one of Rex’s iconic permanent floats. This
float is the last remnant of the Royal Navy, once a feature of each Rex Parade.
16. Floating Gardens of Xochimilco - Founded over a thousand
years ago, Xochimilco was an important island-city conquered first by the Aztecs
and then by the Spanish. Land was scarce, so floating gardens (chinampas) were
developed to grow crops. Some old waterways remain, and are a critical habitat for
the Axolotl salamander.
17.Gardens of Lucullus - Lucius Licinius Lucullus not only helped expand
the Roman Empire into Persia, but he also discovered the beauty of Persia’s gardens.
When he returned to Rome around 60 BC he created a great garden at his villa on the
Pincian Hill, now the site of the Villa Borghese gardens.
18. Garden of Eden - Certainly one of the most familiar gardens of antiquity,
the Garden of Eden is described in the book of Genesis as the place where God placed
His creations, Adam and Eve. Tempted by the serpent, Adam and Eve were cast out of
their first idyllic home.
19. Xanadu - The 13th Century explorer Marco Polo returned with a glowing
description of the beauties of Kublai Khan’s summer palace and gardens. Also known
as Shangdu, this magical place continued to inspire artists and poets, including
Coleridge: “In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/A stately pleasure-dome decree…”
20. Ptolemy’s Garden - Claudius Ptolemy lived in the walled city of
Alexandria, Egypt in the 1st Century AD. He excelled in geography, astronomy,
mathematics and other disciplines. Alexandria attracted many visitors, and
Ptolemy’s gardens influenced the development of ornamental gardens throughout
the civilized world.
21. Hanging Gardens of Babylon - Likely built by King
Nebuchadnezzar in 600 BC, these gardens were one of the Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World. Many visitors described the beauty of the tiers of plants and trees
rising up like a green mountain in the center of the dusty city.
22. The Cloister Garth - Attached to a cathedral or church, a cloister is
the covered arcade or walkway enclosing a religious community and keeping them
apart from the public. The quiet area within, the garth, often contained a well and a
garden, a perfect place for reflection.
23. New Orleans Botanical Garden - New Orleans’ first public
formal garden opened in 1936, and occupies 12 acres of City Park. Sculptor Enrique
Alferez was one of the garden’s designers and created many of its elegant sculptures.
24. Gardens of Alhambra - Constructed by the Moors in Granada, Spain,
the Alhambra is a 14th Century complex of palaces and gardens. Seeking to create
“paradise on earth,” the gardens’ designers filled its courtyards with lush plantings,
reflecting pools and fountains.
25. Parco dei Mostri di Bomarzo - Pier Francesco Orsini created
the “Park of the Monsters” in Bomarzo, Italy in the 16th Century. It is filled with
dramatic and grotesque larger-than-life sculptures such as the open-mouthed Orcus,
the God of the Underworld.
26. Gardens by Olmsted - Frederick Law Olmsted, considered by many
to be the father of American landscape architecture, is best known for his work in
creating New York City’s Central Park. His approach to design emphasized each site’s
natural features, such as rocks and hills.
27. Gardens of Adonis - Among other roles, Adonis was the god of plants,
especially the grains and crops relied on for food. Greek women celebrated him by
planting wheat and other fast-growing plants in baskets and pots. After eight days
these “Gardens of Adonis” were thrown into the sea along with effigies of Adonis,
perhaps as an offering to assure a good harvest.
28. Temple of the Silver Pavilion - Built near Kyoto, Japan in the
16th century as a retreat for the Shogun, this complex of Zen Buddhist temples and
gardens is still a place of peace and contemplation. Its sand garden includes a sand
sculpture said to represent Mt. Fuji.